As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. An option is an Information Handling System (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, global communications, etc. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
In some cases, an IHS may be secured through the use of authentication such that users are required to provide credentials before they can fully access the IHS (or certain features thereof). Examples of such credentials include may include a passcode, pass phrase, personal identification number, challenge response, fingerprint, retinal scan, face identification, voice identification, identification card, etc.
In a conventional IHS, authentication credentials are verified by a host processor within the IHS to determine whether the user is authorized to access it. If so, the user is logged into the IHS and can then access its functionality. The inventors hereof have recognized, however, that authentication of a user by a host processor in the IHS raises a number of security issues, because unauthorized persons may gain access to that processor and manipulate the authentication process itself.